Yerry Mina’s towering header saw Everton rise to second in the Premier League table as struggling Arsenal made it seven games without a win.
Minus key players Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Partey, Arsenal manager and former Evertonian Mikel Arteta endured a miserable return to Merseyside with his team remaining worryingly close to the bottom three.
After stand-in Gunners skipper Rob Holding had inadvertently given Everton the lead, Nicolas Pepe levelled from the spot after a foul on Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
But the visitor’s marking was poor to allow Mina to score on the stroke of half-time.
Strangely, Alexandre Lacazette was given only the final 15 minutes by Arteta in which to make a difference though there was a welcome return to action for another substitute Gabriel Martinelli who had been out since March with a knee injury suffered in training.